The Complete Dictionary of English and Hebrew First Names.

The Complete Hebrew English Dictionary.

The Complete Hebrew English Dictionary.

Variant spellings - RAFAEL, RAFALE, RAFAELLE, RAFEL, RAFFFAEL

Hebrew Bible name - Rephael was the son of Shemiah (1 Chronicles 26:7).

Kabbalistic name - Raphael is the Angel associated with the Sun (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 168).

Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha - Raphael is one of the seven archangels. The names and functions of seven archangels in Enoch 20 are listed here:
Uriel who is over the world and over Tartarus;
Raphael who is over the sprits of men;
I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One (Tobit 12:15).
Raguel [Reuel] who is over the world of the luminaries (Charles, R. H. 1968. The Apocrypha and Pseudephigrapha of the Old Testament Peabody: London: Oxford UP.567).
Michael, who is set over the best part of mankind and over chaos;
Sariel [Zariel], who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit;
Gabriel, who is over paradise, the serpents and the Cherubim;
Jeremiel, who God set over those who rise (Gilbert, R.A. Tr. R. H. Charles. 2003. The Book of Enoch the Prophet. I Enoch 17).
These seven angels are always in the proximity of God and are the ones that are always called upon to carry out takes of special significance for world history (Gilbert, R.A. Tr. R. H. Charles. 2003. The Book of Enoch the Prophet. 1 Enoch 20. Boston: Weiser Books. 17; Encyclopedia Judaica 1972. Ed. Cecil Roth. Jerusalem: Keter. v.2. 962).
Raphael was an archangel sent to heal Tobit and Sarah (Tobit 3: 17).
Therefore when he went to seek a man, he found Raphael that was an angel (Tobit 5:4).

Liturgy - There are four angels mentioned in the Bedtime Shma. May Michael be at my right, Gabriel at my left, Uriel before me, and Raphael behind me; and above my head the Presence of God [Shechina El] (Scherman, Nosson and Meir Zlotowitz. 1989. The Complete Art Scroll Siddur Nusach Ashkenaz. Mesorah Publications, Ltd. 295).

The Hebrew Letters featured in this piece are Resh Pey Aleph Lamed. Taken together, and reading from right to left, they spell REPHAEL.

Each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet has a special meaning and a story to tell. Here a few brief ones about the letters on this painting.

RESH is the 20th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 200. RESH makes a sound like the R in Radiant. Resh means BEGINNING or HEAD. When one spells out the letter Resh in Hebrew, it is Resh Yud Shin. Yud and Shin spell YESH - THERE IS. The letter Resh means BEGINNING. So it is possible to say that the Resh literally means THERE IS A BEGINNING.
[The writing of the letters] must be kethibah tammah [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the Dalet as a Resh or the Resh as a Dalet (Shabbat 103a).
Kuf [stands for] Kadosh [holy]; Resh [for] Rasha [wicked]: why is the face of the Kuf averted from, the Resh? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I cannot look at the wicked. And why is the crown of the Kuf turned toward the Resh? The Holy One, blessed be He, saith: If he repents, I will bind a crown on him like Mine. And why is the foot of the Kuf suspended? [To show] that if he repents, he can enter and be brought in [to God's favour] through this [opening]. (Shabbat 104a).
A Tanna taught: If one corrects one letter, he is culpable. Now, seeing that if one writes one letter he is not culpable. if he [merely] corrects one letter he is culpable? [Surely not] - Said R. Sheshet: The circumstances here are e.g., that he removes the roof [i.e.. the upper bar] of a Heth and makes two Zayyin thereof. Raba said: E.g.. he removes the projection of a Daleth and makes a Resh thereof. [In a Scroll of one of the Biblical books. This constitutes a complete labour, because one may not permit a Scroll of Scripture to remain with an error] (Shabbat 104a).
I am a scribe, and he said to me, Be meticulous in your work, for your occupation is a sacred one [work of heaven]; should you perchance omit or add one single letter, you would thereby destroy all the universe.(18) There is no need [for me to assure you] that I would make no mistakes in respect of words that are plene or defective, since I am familiar [with the subject], but [I have even taken precautions] against the possibility of a fly's perching on the crownlet of a Dalet and, by blotting it out, turn it into a Resh, for I have a certain ingredient, called vitriol, which I put into the ink. (18) By omitting e.g. , the Aleph in Aleph Mem Tav (truth), the word would be abbreviated to Mem Tav (dead) Eruvin13a).
Sefer Yetzirah divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers - Aleph Mem Shin , 7 doubles - Beit Gimel Dalet Caf Pey Resh Tav and 12 elementals - Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf.
According to Sefer Yetzirah, God created the world by means of these letters. The Resh is one of the doubles. He made the letter Resh King over Peace and He bound a crown to it and combined one with another and with them He formed the Universe (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 145, 147, 159, 176).

PEY is the 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 80. PEY makes a sound either like the P in Peace or the F in Food. PEY means MOUTH and is constructed of a Caf with a Yud situated at the top and rotated inward.
If one looks carefully at the Pey one can see that there is a Beit, which makes up the empty space within it. The Beit is the first letter of the word Bereshit - IN A BEGINNING, which is the first word of Torah. God opened up God’s MOUTH and out came the Beit - BEGINNING - CREATION.
The Pey is one of the 5 letters [Caf Mem Nun Pey Tsade] that have 2 forms (Shabbat 104a).
I [Pey] signify redemption and deliverance (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:2b).
The bent Pe and the straight Pe [intimate] an open mouth [Pey], a closed mouth.
The medial (bent) Pey is almost closed - A time to keep silence, and a time to speak (Ecclesiastes 3:7) (Shabbat 104a).
[The writing of the letters] must be kethibah tammah [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the… the Tet as a Pey or the Pey as a Tet (Shabbat 103b).
Sefer Yetzirah. divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers - Aleph Mem Shin, 7 doubles - Beit Gimel Dalet Kuf Pey Resh Tav and 12 elementals - Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf.
According to Sefer Yetzirah, God created the world by means of these letters.
According to Sefer Yetzirah, God created the world by means of these letters. Pey is one of the Doubles. Seven Doubles: BGD KPHRT, Their foundation is Wisdom, Wealth, Seed, Life, Dominance, Peace and Grace. Seven Double, their foundation is [that] He engraved them, He cared them, He permuted them, He weighed the, He transform them, and with them He formed seven planets in the Universe, Seven days in the Year, Seven gates in the Soul, male and female: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the mouth. And God made the letter Pey King over Dominance and He bound a crown to it and combined one with another and with them He formed the Mercury in the Universe, Thursday in the Year, The left ear in the Soul, male and female (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 159, 162, 176).

ALEPH is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of one. The meanings of Aleph are: THOUSAND, MASTER, TEACHING, OX. The Aleph makes no sound. The Aleph is composed of a Vav (6) and 2 Yuds (20). Their combined value is 26 which is the numerical value of the name of God - Yud (10) Hey (5) Vav (6) Hey (5) (Chefitz, Mitchell. 2001. The Seventh Telling. New York: St. Martins Press. 219).
[The writing of the letters] must be kethibah tammah [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the Aleph as an Ayin, the Ayin as an Aleph, (Shabbat 103b).
Alef Beth [means] learn wisdom [Alef Binah] (Shabbat 104a).
The Holy One, blessed be He [ haKadosh barochu], said: I am not called as I am written: I am written with Yud Hey, but I am read, Aleph Dalet (Kiddushim 71a).
There are Names which may be erased [Because they are not used solely of the Deity, and are therefore not sacred]; and there are Names which may not be erased. These are the Names which may not be erased, such as: El [God], Eloha, Elohim, your God, I am that I am [ehyeh asher ehyeh - Aleph Hey Yud Hey - Aleph Shin Resh - Aleph HeyYud Hey], Alef Daleth; Yod He; Shaddai; Zebaoth’ - these may not be erased. but the Great, the Mighty, the Revered, the Majestic, the Strong, the Powerful, the Potent, the Merciful and Gracious, the Long Suffering, the One Abounding in Kindness these may be erased! (Shauvot 35a).
The Lord said to her: Aleph, Aleph, although I will begin the creation of the world with the Beit, thou wilt remain the first of the letters. My unity shall not be expressed except through thee, on thee shall be based all calculations and operations of the world (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:3b).
Beit is female, Aleph, male. As Beit created, so Aleph, produced letters (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:30a).
Sefer Yetzirah divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers - Aleph Mem Shin , 7 doubles - Beit Gimel Dalet Caf Pey Resh Tav and 12 elementals - Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf.
According to Sefer Yetzirah., God created the world by means of these letters. The Aleph is one of the mothers - that group from which emanated AIR (from Aleph), WATER (from Mem) and FIRE (from Shin). The 3 mothers in the universe are AIR, WATER and FIRE...HEAVEN was created from FIRE, EARTH was created from WATER, and AIR from SPIRIT (WIND) balanced between them. Aleph and Shin spell AISH - FIRE. Aleph represents AIR and Shin - FIRE. FIRE cannot exist without AIR (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 145, 147, 159, 197).

LAMED is the 12th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 30. Lamed makes a sound like the L in Like. Lamed means both TO LEARN and TO TEACH. The Lamed is the tallest and most majestic of all the letters. Indeed Rashi interprets A TOWER FLYING IN THE AIR (Hagigah 15b) - as applying to the upper stroke of the Lamed.
The Lamed is generally considered to be constructed of a Caf (20) with a Vav (6). In this configuration the LAMED has a GEMATRIA of 26 - the same as that of the Yud (10) Hey (5) Vav (6) Hey (5) name of God (Haralick, Robert M. 1995. The Inner Meaning of the Hebrew Letters. Northvale: Jason Aronson. 180).
Since LAMED means LEARNING, it would seem that this would constitute a direct connection between LAMED, LEARNING and God.
The ziz [The headplate worn by the High Priest, (Exodus 28:36). ]was a kind of golden plate two fingerbreadths broad, and it stretched round [the forehead] from ear to ear, and upon it was written in two lines Yod He above and Holy Lamed below (Shabbat 63b).
[Zayyin Heth Teth Yod KafLamed: [this sequence teaches], and if thou doest thus, the Holy One, blessed be He [ haKadosh barochu] , will sustain [Zan] thee, be gracious [Hen] unto thee, show goodness [Metiv] to thee, give thee a heritage [Yerushah], and bind a crown [ Keter] on thee in the world to come (Shabbat 104a).
R. Nehemiah said, In the case of every word which requires a Lamed at the beginning [to indicate direction] Scripture has placed a Hey at the end (Yevamot 13b).
Sefer Yetzirah divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers - Aleph Mem Shin , 7 doubles - Beit Gimel Dalet Caf Pey Resh Tav and 12 elementals - Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf.
Lamed is one of the Elementals. Twelve Elementals, their foundation is [that] He engraved them, and transformed them, and with them He formed 12 constellations in the Universe, 12 months in the Year and 12 directions in the soul, male and female. And God made the letter Lamed King over sex. And He bound a crown to it and He combined one with another and with them He formed Libra in the Universe, Tishrei in the Year, and the gall bladder in the soul male and female (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 197, 209, 217).

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This work is accompanied by the kabbalistic explanation printed above.

The original 5x7 watercolor painting of this image is available.

This is great Bar Mitzvah gift.

mat color:: brown

stock number:: nm2-161